


There's Something Wrong With Ariadne Becker

by erintoknow



Series: Aria-Rough Drafts [36]
Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Depression, F/F, POV Female Character, POV Male Character, POV Multiple, POV Second Person, Trans Character, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 02:50:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20900432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erintoknow/pseuds/erintoknow
Summary: You have to get through to her somehow.





	1. Lady Argent

Step into the break room, and lo, there she is, the weirdo who wears shades indoors. Well, alright. She did help put a name to who was behind the attack, even if you still haven’t been able to dredge up any trace of Locus. Julia liked her, and you’re not sure if that was a point for or against her.

Take the sandwich out of the fridge, sit down at the table with her. Notice how she tenses up. There’s something not quite right about her. Metal where there shouldn’t be? You’d have to really scrutinize to puzzle it out, and frankly, it’s not worth the bother. Apparently she used to be Sidestep, back in the day? Hard to believe – jittery, anxious, mess like that.

“Here for Ortega, again?” You ask. She keeps showing up now that Julia’s back out of the hospital. You don’t care what Julia says, there is definitely something going on there.

“Mmhm,” She nods her head, and then stands up, grabbing her purse. “S–s–sorry, I’ll get out of your way.” She makes a hasty exit out of the breakroom, leaving half a chocolate bar on the table.

Give a minute for her to come back for it.

She still doesn’t show.

Okay. This is, what? The third time now? You’re _pretty sure_ now that she’s deliberately avoiding you. It’s starting to make you anxious. Did she go snooping around when she was in your head? You glance back to the door before swiping the candy bar for yourself. Something’s up.

There’s something wrong with Ariadne Becker.


	2. Marcia

You’re not sure what you expected when you started the job, but near total freedom from any managerial supervision hadn’t been remotely on your radar. The guy who interviewed you, a gruff sounding young man was nowhere to be seen. Instead this redheaded stick of a girl gave you the rundown of the place.The shop looked several decades into its slow decline.

“Well… I work in the back so we probably won’t see much of each other, but it’s good to meet you.” Her smile is a little lopsided, uneasy, as she brushes back the tangled curls from her face. Her face is a little too pale, and she doesn’t offer a hand to shake or hug. Just disappears into the workshop behind the storefront (with the carefully organized storage system you had been repeatedly warned not to mess with).

You had been ready to write her off.

Three weeks into the job, you’re convinced there’s nothing and no one stopping you from spending all day chatting up Marcy and girls using the store phone. Friday night you’re locking up, and it’s not until you flick out the lights you realize the workshop light is still on. That woman better not still be at it. It’s just a two-bit job.

Poke your head in, and she’s still there at her desk alright. Only she’s fallen asleep, facedown in a pile of computer parts. Oh dear. Carefully step through, pick up the few pieces on the floor; you don’t really know where they go so you just put them on the table near the computer tower thingy. There’s a weird sense of unease. It’s only increased as you’ve gotten closer, like an itching in the back of your brain.

The girl mumbles something in her sleep, an apology? Something personal anyway. You prod her awake, a gentle shark on her arm. No coherent response. Harder pull, and she jumps in her seat with a start, grabbing your wrist and yanking hard as you bang your side against the work table.

“Ow! Shoot!” You bite back a curse as pain shoots up your hip. “Easy dear!”

It takes her a second but redhead lets go you, a strangled noise coming from her body. “S–s-sorry! I’m so sorry!” She staggers out her chair and steps away from you, almost tripping over herself.

“Goodness, no need for that now!” You force a laugh, try to put her at ease. Hadn’t anticipated such a forceful reaction.

As the confusion fades from her face, she fixes you with a cold stare. “D–don’t touch me ever ag–again.”

You frown, even as you step away. Well, that’s a little extreme isn’t it? There’s something wrong with Ariadne Becker.


	3. Herald

“C–come on.” Ariadne squares up her shoulders, staring you down. “Let’s try th–this again.”

You ready yourself, putting yourself stance she suggested, feet planted wide. And then– something in her eye, you hesitate. “Are– are you sure? Do you need a rest after–”

“I’m f–f–fine,” she says, a little too quickly. “Doesn’t even hurt.” Her frown tightens, and then she’s going for your side again. You push off just before her hand would have hit, moving with the blow and twisting around to grab her arm.

Ariadne grunts as you pull her off balance, recovering with a headbutt into your chest. Winded you reflexively let go as you drift backwards to a safe distance. When she lunges after; rise up and out of her reach and – oh, that’s a little close to the edge!

“Hey! Hey uh– lets back up a bit?” You call down, moving back towards the middle of the roof.

Ariadne huffs, “D–don’t hesitate to use your environment against your enemy.”

“Okay, that’s great,” you concede, “but I _really_ don’t want to have to catch you falling from a ten story building.”

“I–” She purses her lips, as if lost for words. “Fine. Fine.” She walks and you fly back to the middle of the roof. “Happy now, wonderbread?”

“Thank you,” you nod as you touch back down to the ground.

She takes a quick jab with her fist as your head and you swerve to the side. “N–n–never gonna take out Adrestia with–” She sidesteps your counterpunch and pushes you off balance. “–th–that bleeding heart of yours.”

You stop your fall before you can heart the floor, roll to the side. “Take out?” Cut the thought in time to dodge Ariadne’s kick. “I’m out to–” Her fist hits your hip as you fly out of range. Wipe the grimace from your face. “I’m want to stop Adrestia. Not kill her.”

Ariadne narrows her eyes up at you, still tense, ready for any sudden moves. “Why not? They’re a villain.”

Is _Sidestep_ seriously asking you this? “We don’t need to kill them to stop them.”

“That’s not exactly a kind–” She stops herself, shakes her head and shoves her hands in her pockets. “In a fight – a _real_ fight,” she adds before you can object, “there’s none of this pulling your punches crap. She hunches her shoulders, drawing in on herself. “If you want to win, you have to accept the reality that the other guy might die. And that you might die if you lose.”

You drift back to the ground as she talks. Ariadne’s staring a hole through the floor, another one of those moods again then. “Are you sure you’re okay…?”

A tight frown pulls at her face and she avoids meeting your eyes. “I’m just tired. Lesson over today, okay?” She shakes her head, runs a hand through her hair.

You sigh, have to watch your thoughts or she’ll yell at you again. But still. There’s something wrong with Ariadne Becker.


	4. Steel

You had to take a second to double-check the identity of the figure on the park bench, but who else could it be? Ariadne Becker in shades, hunched over, watching dogs at 6:30 in the morning. Chancing across her here once was a coincidence. Twice, chance. But three times now?

Well, if you’ve noticed her know, she’s doubtless noticed you. Might as well do the polite thing. Maybe the two of you won’t even fight this time.

Too much doesn’t add up. Too many secrets kept. Some of that might be your fault. You can see that now. Shutting does she had been trying to open. You had to. Had to put the team first. But then again…

Things are supposed to be clearer in retrospect not murkier.

You put rest a hand on the back of the bench as you approach.

Ariadne raises a hand in a weak-waved greeting. “Chen.”

“Ariadne.”

“We meet again, old man.”

“Mm.” You sit down on the other end of the bench. Ariadne doesn’t look up. “Another hard night?”

Watch how her shoulders tighten then sag. “Y–yeah. You… you know how it is.” For once her hands are still, curled up in fists at her sides. When she doesn’t elaborate, you shift your attention back to Spoon, playing with a group of other dogs.

Take a deep breath, focus on Spoon. “I’m…” pick your words slowly, keeping any internal monologue to a minimum, “glad you’re back.”

“_Really now_.” She doesn’t bother hiding the sarcasm in her voice. “Y–you’re just thankful someone c–c–competent is finally showing Herald the ropes.”

You shake your head, watch her from the corner of your eye. “Julia’s really pulled herself together since finding you.”

That catches her off-guard, wipes the smile off her face. “W–what?” Ariadne looks away from you. “She seemed just f–fine when we first met.”

“You don’t have seven years of context.”

“…y–you going to share with the class, Steel?”

Take a deep breath, ready yourself for any hint of a mental intrusion. It doesn’t come. Has it ever? Would you really know if it had? “That’s not my story to share.”

Ariadne makes a sound somewhere between a groan and hushed scream. “Th–then why bring it up!?

“Because,” you shift on the bench so you can stare her down straight-on. “You’ve been good for her.”

“Good for her!?” Ariadne makes a face, something between surprise and disbelief. “I’m nothing but a–” She cuts herself off, huffs as she hunches down, hugging herself.

“I don’t think she can take losing you again.”

She stares out at Spoon and the other dogs. “I– I’m retired, Chen.”

“So you keep saying.” Spoon barks, grabbing your attention as he runs back to you, and you cup his head in your hands. Despite your focus one stray thought leeks out, but if she picks it up, then there’s no indication. There’s something wrong with Ariadne Becker.


	5. Ortega

You tie off the loop of string around the push pin and step back to look at the whole of the cork-board, a dissatisfied frown on your face. This all leads back to Hollow Ground somehow, but there’s something missing.

Ariadne had all but confessed to having been held prisoner by someone. Who would go to the effort of faking her death and holding her captive? She’s a telepath. A run-away, who was desperate to avoid having her actual face caught on the news – Can’t help but feel guilty there. After five years, you let yourself get a little too comfortable, all that work trying to draw her out of her shell. Was it your fault they found her? And who is ‘they’? Well, who does Ariadne look like but Hollow Ground herself? Hollow Ground didn’t hesitate to kill Hood for getting too close to the truth. What would she do to her own family?

Just thinking about what they might have done to Ari is enough to send static discharge crawling up your arms.

Ari says she escaped but… She didn’t go to the Rangers. Didn’t tell anyone she was alive. Why? Why wouldn’t she tell you? Why was Ariadne so guilty around Angie? She visited you in the hospital, the same night Adrestia debuted. She looked ready to fall apart on you that night. Always knew Adrestia’s next name. Always avoiding your messages, playing hard to get, afraid to get involved with the Rangers again.

Why did Adrestia fight like her?

And yet… had Adrestia killed anyone? If anything, reports suggested Adrestia was increasingly going out of her way to avoid _any_ injuries. Chen had the strangest story of Adrestia sticking around to help him save people trapped in a burning building.

Adrestia made a lot of noise about overthrowing the government, but what had they really accomplished so far?

But… _why_ would Ariadne do that?

And then there’s Jane. Jane, who looks like Ariadne and Hollow Ground both. Another relative? She’s made a big splash in the underground circuit. First hiring out various mercs and crooks for odd jobs and now working almost exclusively as a go-between for her ‘boss’ Adrestia.

But was Adrestia really calling the shots?

Jane looking like Hollow Ground doesn’t mean anything on its own, but when you dragged Jane out on work she hadn’t been happy. She’d be even less happy if she had realized you caught that moment of recognition between her and Hallow Ground’s goons. So she’s not just a criminal fixer for Adrestia, she has some tie to Hollow Ground. Probably more the just a ‘tie’ but you can’t prove that any more than Ariadne’s connection.

Why does Adrestia’s fixer with ties to Hollow Ground live directly below Ariadne? What else could it be but to keep tabs on her? Whatever job Ariadne’s taken its running her ragged, and forced her back into shape.

Stringing Jane along as long as you have in hopes of her tipping her hand isn’t exactly your proudest action as a Ranger. It’s kind of a relief now to have have to cut things off with her, even if that’s only going to make keeping tabs on the woman harder. It’s your own fault really. Sometimes she just… seemed so much like Ariadne, but… more open? More willing to flirt, to see where things would go.

You’re not sure what that says about you. Nothing flattering, you’re sure.

Meanwhile, the actual Ariadne is.. trying to push you away with one hand and pulling you back with the other. She’d always been scared of closeness, but this is…

There’s something wrong with Ariadne Becker.

You have to get through to her somehow. Show her there’s still a way out.


End file.
